Retribution
by SerpentineShadows
Summary: Post-FE10. Two years after Ashera's defeat, Faelan wants revenge. OC included (Faelan).
1. Prologue: Faelan

A breeze rustled the tree leaves in the outskirts of Begnion. The Tower of Guidance still stood proudly, looming over the other buildings in Sienne. The tower was empty of people, having been so after Ashera's defeat two years ago.

The wind whistled through the many floors of the tower. It was deathly silent except for the rising and falling of the breeze. In the room where Ashera had once slept, a figure landed lightly on his feet. Light glowed from the man for a minute before disappearing. He wore a black tunic, gray pants, and boots. His windswept hair, a shiny gray color, ran down the length of his back. His deceptively young face had an ethereal quality to it. Cold rage burned in blood red eyes. Fists clenched, nails digging so deep blood began to drip on the stone floor. Crescent-shaped marks were imprinted on his palms. Still, the fire being stoked in his heart could not be contained.

Outside, the wind suddenly died. The clouds seemed to pause their trek through the sky. For a brief moment, time in Tellius came to a standstill. The rumble of daily life ceased. Conversations were broken off, words left hanging in the air. People all over the continent had frozen, just like when Ashera had petrified them. Birds stopped mid-flight. The swaying fields of grass held still. Then, just as fast, activity resumed. Life continued, and most of the citizens were oblivious to what had just happened.

Inside the Tower of Guidance, the man gazed out the window at Begnion's capital city, Sienne. Disgust was etched on his features, his face contorted in a contemptuous sneer. Faelan turned away from the window, unable to bear seeing those filthy creatures any longer. It was their shallow disputes that had caused Yune's awakening and Ashera's judgement. Those pitiful creatures had brought about Ashera's ruin, and they would pay dearly.

"Do not worry, Ashera," Faelan muttered. "I have come to avenge you."

* * *

**A/N: I do not own _Path of Radiance_ or _Radiant Dawn_. In case you were wondering, the name "Faelan" means "little wolf".**


	2. Displeasure

**A/N: Thank you to ChocolateAntelope, Gunlord500, and Guest for reviewing. Disclaimer: I do not own _Radiant Dawn_. Warnings: This story contains an OC and will be updated sporadically. Also, characters may be OOC. This took a while since I took out a whole chunk after getting a better idea.**

* * *

Faelan swiftly dropped himself out of the window, a blur of color against the Tower's gray stone. He elegantly dusted himself off. Out of habit, Faelan shook his shaggy, silver mane. He stretched, then picked at the uncomfortable and detestable human clothing. The bustle of the city shattered his ears. The stench of humans overwhelmed his nose. Faelan quickly blended into the throng of people. He ended up leaning against the wall of a shop, concealing himself in the shadows. He inspected the passersby with a critical eye, his nose scrunched up in annoyance.

"That insolent sub-human–"

Faelan perked up at the term "sub-human," his eyes narrowing. His gaze flickered over to the pair of humans about to enter the shop nearest to him. A low growl purred within his throat. He stepped forward to intercept the two humans, but before he could do anything, another human interfered.

"They're _laguz_," the new human said. One hand gripped a book while the other rested firmly on his hips. A red cape signaling his station as a mage rested on his shoulders, and a green headband kept unruly blood red hair out of his eyes. His equally red eyes glared up at the man towering over him.

Faelan stood off to the side, deciding not to intervene. He observed the scene unfolding before his eyes, paying the most attention to the skinny boy. Although the two older men were as crude as he expected humans to be, the boy seemed to be defending laguz. To Faelan, the fact that a _human_ would stand up for laguz was unthinkable. Exactly how much had Tellius changed since he had last walked upon its soil?

"Move, kid. You're in the way." The two men looked down at the boy with disdain etched on their faces. Compared to the two burly men, the mage seemed feeble and meek.

Hints of a frown pulled at the boy's mouth. "The name's Tormod, not 'kid,' and I'm not moving until you apologize."

"Apologize to what?" one of the men guffawed, leaning over Tormod.

Tormod was unfazed by the man's attempt at intimidation. "The laguz you just insulted."

The two men burst out into laughter as Faelan narrowed his eyes. Tormod still stood before the shop door. Pedestrians on the streets were either gawking or swiftly walking by.

"Shut up, you sub-human sympathizer," the older human said once he had recovered from his laughter.

He moved to shove Tormod out of the way. A tiger laguz with a white bandana jumped in, slapping the man's hand away. Almost instantly, the fierce expression was dropped. The two men backed away.

"Eww, it's a sub-human!" one screeched as they scrambled away.

Tormod sighed, watching the men as they tripped and picked themselves back up. "Muarim, I didn't need your help. I was trying to get them to apologize."

"I apologize, little one."

"Nah, it's okay. We'll probably see them again anyway." Tormod then spun around to face Faelan. "Hey, you're laguz, aren't you?"

Faelan froze for a moment, completely shocked. He quickly recovered, erasing all traces of emotion from his features. "What makes you think so?" he said softly, dangerously. His muscles tensed, prepared to fight.

"I've been around laguz for a long time. I guess you could say I'm an expert at distinguishing between beorc and laguz," Tormod boasted proudly.

"I look nothing like laguz."

"That's not what I mean. You just seem like one!"

Faelan regarded Tormod condescendingly. "I seem like laguz to you."

"Of course!"

Muarim placed a hand on Tormod's shoulder. "Perhaps we should take this conversation elsewhere," he murmured.

Around the three of them, nobles dressed in finery sneered from a distance. Faelan caught the contempt clearly displayed in their actions. Though it was not displayed directly at him, he could barely restrain himself from attacking. His crimson eyes returned their scorn with a hateful glare, and pale, ivory fingers danced impatiently. Muarim moved slightly in front of Tormod, as if moving to protect him. He also kept an eye on Faelan, ready for the worst case scenario. Meanwhile, Tormod, who once would have reacted childishly, now gazed coolly at the nobles. His fury rose from a simmer to a boil, but he kept a lid on it. As he had learned over the past two years, antagonizing the nobles would do no good. It would simply widen the chasm between the laguz and beorc._  
_

"Yeah, let's move somewhere else," Tormod said darkly, his fists shaking. "Are you coming...Uh...?"

Faelan stared at Tormod for a while. Shouts, whispers, crashes, and all sorts of other noises sounded from everywhere in Sienne except for around Tormod, Muarim, and Faelan. They were enveloped in a bubble of silence. The air was tense.

"...Faelan."

Tormod instantly brightened, his personality turning from dead serious to carefree. "Hey, that's a nice name! Well, Faelan, are you coming with us?"

Again, quiet surrounded the three of them. Then, Faelan muttered, "Fine."

"Great!"

* * *

Tormod and Muarim weaved through the crowds, leading Faelan through the organized chaos that was Sienne. He followed the pair all the way to the outskirts of Sienne, where a lone house stood. The outside was relatively plain, not lavishly decorated like some other houses they had passed: a wooden door, a few windows with the curtains drawn, and a small porch. The color of the house was a different matter. It was painted garishly with neon green, dark red, and white.

Tormod smiled widely. "Welcome to my house!"

Faelan's brow furrowed. His lip curled in distaste. "Your...house."

"Yeah, come on. Let's go inside! This is one of the only days I'm free, you know? It'd be nice to talk to a laguz that's new around here."

"I repeat: What makes me seem like a laguz?"

"Come on, Faelan. You're not fooling anyone here!"

Tormod grabbed Faelan's arm and started dragging him toward the house. Faelan grimaced in response, trying to shake Tormod off. Muarim followed a few feet behind, sighing wearily at Tormod's antics. When they reached the front door, Tormod let go of Faelan (who retracted his arm as quickly as possible) and patted his pockets for a key. Muarim fished in his pocket and pulled out a silver key. He tossed it to Tormod.

"Oh, thanks, Muarim."

"Sorry, little one, but I have business I must attend to. Is it okay if I leave now?"

"Sure. I'll see you later, Muarim!"

* * *

Faelan and Tormod entered the house, which was decorated similarly to the outside. There was only the essential furniture placed in each room. A few odd trinkets were placed around and a picture or two hung from the walls, but those were the only belongings to mark the place as Tormod's. However, the color scheme was enough to define it as his. Colors that obviously clashed, like orange and blue, were used in the same rooms.

Tormod directed Faelan to the sitting room. A midnight blue couch faced the doorway. On the other side of that couch was a cherry red sofa. In between was a low glass table holding a white vase with carnations inside. The flames in the fireplace were put out. Portraits hung on the walls, but otherwise they were fairly empty. The ceiling had not been painted; it was dark brown wood. The walls were bright red while the floor was painted swamp green.

Faelan perched on the edge of the red sofa while Tormod faced him. Tormod placed his book on the couch and leaned back. "If you're still wondering how I know you're laguz, I didn't judge based on appearance. It doesn't matter to me if you don't have tails or wings; I can still tell the difference between a laguz and beorc. You're a laguz. So, where are you from?"

Faelan's hostile nature returned. "Who are you?"

"I'm Tormod, Begnion's laguz advisor. The one who just left is Muarim. He's Begnion's first laguz official." Tormod grinned, completely ignoring Faelan's unfriendly tone.

A puzzled expression flashed across Faelan's face. "Why is a laguz an official of Begnion?"

"Huh? You don't know about the war?"

"Of course I do," Faelan snapped. "Laguz were fighting against humans."

"Beorc," Tormod corrected. "Actually, some beorc fought on the laguz side, but that's not what I'm talking about. Don't you know about Ashera's judgement?"

"I know. What about it?"

"After we defeated Ashera, all the people were returned to normal. People like me are trying to fix the relationship between laguz and beorc."

Faelan's frown deepened. "Who defeated Ashera?"

Tormod blinked. "You really don't know," he said incredulously.

"I know it was a human named Ike."

"It wasn't just Ike! More people were involved. I was, too."

"You participated in Ashera's defeat."

Tormod's grin faltered. "Yeah. Why do you look so upset?"

"So there was more than one human?"

"There were also laguz," Tormod said hesitantly.

"Laguz, bringing about Ashera's ruin."

"Uh, Faelan—"

He stood up abruptly. "Which laguz?"

"F—"

Faelan slammed his hands down on the table. The glass made a clinking sound. His hair shielded his face from view. Even if Tormod was able to see his expression, he wouldn't understand Faelan's emotions.

"I asked which laguz helped bring down Ashera."

"There were some from all the clans," Tormod answered in a rush. "Even the dragon tribe."

"Not only humans, but laguz."

"People from all over Tellius united against Ashera. If we didn't do that, we wouldn't have been able to defeat her."

"And you shouldn't have been able to!" Faelan exploded. "Ashera is a goddess while you all are petty creatures that think only for themselves! She shouldn't have lost to the likes of you!"

Tormod also stood from his seat. "Are you—"

"It was Yune's fault!" Faelan screeched, his self-control gone.

He stormed out of Tormod's house even as Tormod chased after him. Faelan transformed into a more comfortable form — his wolf form — and raced away in swift strides. Light glinted off his light gray fur. Blood red eyes were now even more wolf-like, more animalistic. Faelan's claws dug prints into the ground as he added on a burst of speed. His tail swished behind him. The landscape passed by in a blur. Tormod's small figure was soon lost far behind him. Faelan was unsure of where he was going; the only thought on his mind was to run far, far away. Away from that _human_ who had aided in destroying Ashera, his beloved goddess. Away from that city in which Ashera was no longer worshipped. Toward the laguz who he would convince in joining his cause, using whatever means necessary. Closer to the sweet revenge against Yune. He was nowhere near accomplishing his goal, but Faelan could smell the cloying scent of Yune's blood tickling his nose.


End file.
